Developers focus on city's Eastside

Whitner Village Town Homes residents, from left; Kim Bowen, Jessica Fisher, and Valerie Stadler with sons Jaydon, five-days old, and Braxton, two-years old, enjoy the courtyard in the center of the apartment complex of the Eastside of Anderson. A group of developers from Florida fixed the apartments, and are looking into the former Cleo Bailey School as a possible 30-unit apartment complex on the Eastside of Anderson.

Marion Scott gets ready to climb under a home at 710 Elizabeth street in Anderson, part of fixing the two-story home on the Eastside of Anderson for use.

Lisa Harbin of Anderson helps scrape paint off walls at 710 Elizabeth street in Anderson. Harbin joins a group of developers, fixing a two-story home on the Eastside of Anderson for use.

Developer Sheila Powell from Florida looks into the former Cleo Bailey School as the location on East Whitner Street is a possible 30-unit apartment complex on the Eastside of Anderson, pending the sale of the property.

ANDERSON - Cathy Volpe and Sheila Powell saw something in an apartment complex on East Whitner Street where they found crack pipes on living room floors.

Now, they've set their eyes on the rest of the older neighborhood.

"We really have faith in this area," Powell said. "We really believes it only takes one person have faith in a neighborhood, then it restores the faith of the others. We are in this area for the long haul."

After moving from south Florida, developers Powell and Volpe spotted the old Arlington Court apartments in 2007. For $133,000, they bought the 16 apartments. They renovated them, doing a lot of the work themselves.

In June, the last apartment at the newly-named Whitner Village Townhomes was rented.

Now as the women rebuild a home on Elizabeth Street, they are negotiating with a property owner for what they hope will be their next large-scale project — the old Cleo Bailey school. They want to turn the nearly 100-year-old building into a retirement community.

The old school was listed as a key project for breathing new life into the eastside, said Jesse Wiles, with Asset Property Disposition. The Anderson City Council hired Wiles' firm to look at how the city's neighborhoods can be improved.

"The school has a sense of history to it. It's a project that, if it could be developed, it would serve as a catalyst for the neighborhood in which it is located," Wiles said. "It's the type of project that stimulates or encourages the renovation of other properties around it."

The women's dreams for the former elementary school aren't the first to be discussed when it comes to bringing the old building back to life. In March 1999, the property's owner at the time pitched turning the 28,000-square-foot red-brick school into an apartment complex.

According to an article published by the Independent Mail in 1999, the school was closed in the 1970s.

Volpe and Powell are working a budget to see if they can take on the school project. They've talked with the old school's owner, Jim Dorsey, who also liked the idea of turning it into an affordable housing for those who are 55 years old and older.

It would be marketed to those who love the area but don't want to deal with the upkeep of a house. They'd like to put in a swimming pool, a fellowship hall with game tables and even some exercise equipment, Powell said.

"We've talked with Mr. Dorsey and he has as much passion as we do for that building. He's owned that school for years and years," Powell said. "The last thing he wants to do is have someone come into the building and scrap it for brick."

Dorsey could not be reached via phone on Monday.

Powell said they hope to make a final decision on the school project within the next 60 to 90 days.

In the meantime, Volpe and Powell are working on smaller improvements to the eastside. The house on Elizabeth Street is one of them. A Dumpster sits out front of the two-story house where the paint is peeling, the roof is caving in and the wood siding is falling off in places.

Should the numbers for the old school project add up for Volpe and Powell, residents and city leaders say they are excited about the developers' overall influence for the eastside.

City Council member Tony Stewart is one of those hopeful city leaders. He said he has seen homeowners near the apartment complex start with their own renovations since Powell and Volpe began their work.

"They've done an outstanding job on those apartments," Stewart said. "That has been a big, big boost to the community."

What has made the difference is that Volpe and Powell lived up to their promises for the Whitner Village Townhomes.

They've landscaped the complex, installed a fence with a security gate and have put in a small courtyard and a playground. All of the apartments have new appliances, granite counter tops, new windows and floors covered in wood and tile. All of them are leased for about $600 a month.

One of the apartments' tenants, Sheldon Moultrie, used to hang out on the eastside and remembers getting into fights at the complex that he now calls home.

"These apartments were abandoned. A lot of drug dealers and crack dealers used to come in here," Moultrie said. "It was a pretty bad neighborhood."

That was the mid-1990s. He said he got into trouble with the police himself then. Now, at 31, he is in the military. A few months ago, he moved back into the area.

"The place is real beautiful," Moultrie said. "This neighborhood is getting better. Before, you would hear police sirens, gunshots and fights over here all the time. I'm glad it's like this now. I wouldn't have moved back here if it was like it used to be."

Not all of the crime is gone though. Earlier this year, a man was shot and killed at a home not far from the apartments. Then, police listed the area as still one of their high-crime zones.

When asked if they were discouraged by that, Volpe and Powell said, "No."

"There is something about this area that warms our heart," Powell said. "When you put something positive in, you inspire others. People have already started putting love back into their area. I don't think it's a losing battle over here at all."